Egypt is entering a pivotal time in its modern history, as my colleagues and I explain today in Business Monitor Online. Popular protests against President Hosni Mubarak, inspired by those in Tunisia, are a major risk to his regime. However, even if the protests fail to dislodge Mubarak now, his advanced age (82) would appear… [Read more]

The ousting of Tunisian President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali late on Friday is as good a time as any to discuss the ingredients for a successful popular uprising. Many leaders around the world face protests of some sort, but most survive the turmoil. There were several reasons why Tunisians moved against their president last week:… [Read more]

North Korea’s artillery attack on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong in the hotly disputed maritime border region is a provocative move to say the least. Although North and South have clashed at sea before, most notably resulting in the sinking of the Southern warship Cheonan in March, and have exchanged gunfire at the Demilitarised… [Read more]

North Korea’s succession drama has officially kicked off, with ailing leader Kim Jong Il, 68, appointing his 26- or 27-year old third son, Kim Jong Un, to the rank of General. Bizarrely, also promoted to General was Kim Jong Il’s 64-year old sister Kim Kyong Hui. Neither of them have any military experience, so the… [Read more]

US President Barack Obama’s formal declaration of the end of US combat operations in Iraq on August 31 is a good a moment as any to reflect on the war, the United States’ global position, and Obama himself. Iraq War: Have The Goals Been Achieved? First, let me address the Iraq War itself. There were… [Read more]

There’s been quite a lot of commentary in the media of late about Turkey emerging as a global power. This seems to have been prompted by the increasingly assertive positions on a variety of issues (eg standing up to Israel over the Gaza blockade, and vetoing new UN sanctions on Iran) adopted by Prime Minister… [Read more]

One of the most oft-repeated axioms of Asian geopolitics is that there won’t be a new war on the Korean Peninsula because neither North and South Korea nor their principal backers (China and the US) want it to happen. The South and the US will not attack the North because that would lead to a… [Read more]